Integrated microfluidic devices for medical diagnostics and studying cell signaling

I&EC 65

Anup K Singh, aksingh@sandia.gov, Biosystems Research Department, Sandia National Laboratories, Mailstop 9951, PO Box 969, Livermore, CA 94551-0969
Microfluidic devices have attracted a significant interest in the field of biochemical analysis because of a number of advantages they offer such as speed of analysis, portability, small sample and reagent consumption, and potential for multiplexing and automation. Application of microfluidic chips in two areas will be presented—in developing portable diagnostics devices and in studying cell signaling. We have developed a point-of-care device using chip-based immunoassays for detection of disease markers in saliva. The microfluidic chip performs rapid immunoassays (< 3-10 minutes) with low sample volume requirements (10 µL) and appreciable sensitivity (nM-pM). The microfluidic device is being tested by detecting biomarkers in saliva samples from patients diagnosed with periodontal disease.

We are also developing integrated microfluidic systems for real-time interrogation of single cells to study cellular signaling involved in innate immunity. Our goal is to quantitatively measure components of TLR4 signaling pathway in macrophages challenged with lipopolysaccharide and pathogenic bacteria.